Nguyen Tien Trinh portrays the peaceful nature and fishing life on Thi Nai Lagoon, the largest in the south central Binh Dinh Province, through his photo collection. 

Thi Nai, full name Thi Li Bi Nai, used to be the commercial port of Vijaya, a city-state in the ancient kingdom of Champa, dating back thousands of years. 

The large saltwater lagoon, covering over 5,000 hectares to the southeast of Binh Dinh, stretches from the north of Tuy Phuoc District to Quy Nhon, a popular beach destination. 

Thi Nai Bridge crossing the lagoon of the same name is a local symbol. The seven-long-meter bridge used to be the country's longest sea crossing stretching 2.5 kilometers, before Hai Phong City's Tan Vu-Lach Huyen Bridge opened to traffic in September 2017. 

Since the Thi Nai bridge opened in 2006, tourists can easily visit famous beaches in Quy Nhon like Ky Co and Eo Gio as well as Phuong Mai sand hill.

Waterlogged house clusters lie amid aquaculture plots on Thi Nai Lagoon in Dong Da Ward of Quy Nhon Town. 

A floating house on Chim (Bird) Islet, a part of the lagoon, in Phuoc Son Commune of Tuy Phuoc District, about 15 kilometers from Quy Nhon. The islet is home to 100 families, who have subsisted on fishing for countless generations. 

The islet boasts a mangrove forest and is deemed the green lung of Binh Dinh. 

Thi Nai Lagoon is formed by tributaries of the Kon and Ha Thanh rivers. When the tide rises, the surface of the lagoon sparkles with water. During low tide, the water recedes, leaving the lagoon inert and swampy. 

A local catches snails on a low tide day. According to a survey in 2020, the lagoon is home to around 684 species of animals and plants, including many species of fish, shrimp, crabs, mollusks and seaweed. 

Fishing boats on Thi Nai Lagoon.

There are up to 1,000 square hectares of mangrove forests and 200 hectares of sea grass around the lagoon. Thi Nai has adequate resources of ephemera and many species of aquatic products with high economic and ecological value like oysters and crabs. 

Ro cho, a regional-type fishing net.

Ro cho are supported by four long bamboo poles with a sagging fishing net in the middle shaped like a pan. Fishermen use bamboo sticks to sweep and push trapped fish into the navel and later to one side of the net for later harvest.

From Thi Nai Bridge, visitors not only have the opportunity to watch daybreak but also enjoy a peaceful and slow pace of life unfold as locals gather their catch of the day.

Photos by Nguyen Tien Trinh